I knew our defense was good, but I didn't think we would be tied for the best pass D in the nation. I think this has to do a lot with Mattison/Mallory and also BIG TENNNNNNN. I was nervous about our pass D after Countess went out, but Taylor has really stepped up and is a pleasant surprise.

Gibson minus all the points.

I don't know how to format this chart to make it fit. Sorry for blocking the diary section.

Big Ten certainly has something to do with it, but Bama's schedule has been potentially even weaker than ours if you take out the extra ten levels of imaginary difficulty granted to all SEC games. Vandy probably impresses me most of those teams. Pass defense rankings are pretty worthless on their own though obviously. Does show that we've definitely improved in that area, which is nice.

Yeah, but the fact that only one of Alabama's opponents has managed to stay within three touchdowns of them (just barely; Ole Miss lost to them 33-14) is a little scary. They don't seem to have any real flaws. I would be shocked if they don't repeat this year. They remind me of Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream in the NES version of Punch-Out.

"assuming that our offense held them to half of their normal production"

If we held a team to 0 output we would affect them by 1/8th. Since that pretty clearly didn't happen, at best it would be 1/16th.

If any of them played a defense ranked middle of the pack and we compared vs ours maybe we would see the true difference and be able to apply that back, 1/16th is probably too optimistic, we're probably talking 1/32nd at best, or 3%

Yeah, this, unfortunately. Look at how few attempts we have against us compared to everyone else on the OP's list. We just haven't played teams who throw much at all. We're not #1 in effeciency, just in total yards allowed.

The fact that we've played a number of games in inclement weather doesn't hurt either.

But as a counter-example, the best pass offense Alabama has faced is Arkansas, and when they did face them it was a shell of its current self. Typically the best pass defenses in terms of rankings are because they play mediocre pass offenses. So yeah, UM may not be #1, but it is always relative.

Yeah, I'll give RR credit for some of it. These guys aren't scrubs. They're current coaching staff is doing a good job with them, so they get credit, too. The D-line is putting good pressure on QBs, so they get credit too.

The secondary themselves are generally utilizing all three of those things, so they get the most credit.

It's interesting that only 20 yards separate the 1st and last team on this list when it comes to average opponent passing yards really. Another representation of the fantastic progress that Greg Mattison has made in really a short span. The other stat that I think deserves mention is pass efficiency defense, and we're 15th nationally, I believe. We allow an average of 5.89 YPA, and there are actually three teams just in the Big Ten that are better in this regard.

I looked at individuals stats on MGoBlue, and we've accumulated 7 interceptions for 127 yards, 14 pass breakups and 3 recorded QB hurries. Further, the top 5 tacklers on the team are the starting linebackers and both starting safeties, and combined, they have 9.5 TFL for 64 yards. That's sounding like a defense that is difficult to throw against, and it is a wonderful thing.

Just in the conference, 122 yards separate the best passing defense (ours) and the worst (Ohio State).

I think Coach Mallory really deserves a lot of credit here. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all the guys back there (Especially Kovacs), but Coach has done a fantastic job with these guys.

With that being said, can you imagine how good Michigan's secondary will be in a few years? Look at all the size/length/athleticism they are recruiting... only one word is needed.

It is out of Coaching for Dummies (as seen in the Waterboy). You run enough to make the other team put 8 in the box then you pass over their heads to the open receivers in the secondary. Some never win the run battle.

Naturally there is the argument of offense wins games while defense wins championships.

Give credit to the linebackers... These guys have done just about everything right on the season, from getting extreme pressure on the quarterbacks and playing solid zone coverage when needed to. They are the main reason why our defense has been so successful this season. Great job boys and Go Blue!

1) hardly any defensive line depth at all that included a converted offensive lineman that has shown little promise, a fifth year senior that has been teetering on the edge of "bust".

2) outside rush ends that are undersized and under experienced

3) a linebacking core that was both young, inexperienced and undersized which included a LB who was a 3 star out of HS that now looks like a bonified all-american as a sophomore,

4) cornerbacks that were either recruited to other positions, or a fill-in freshman who wasn't expected to play because the stud got hurt

5) a nickle that was recruited as a QB

6) a former walk-on safety who is now so adept and sound at his position teams don't even try to attack him

This is what Mattison had to work with and he's done brilliantly to get them to this point. In 21 games he's turned around the entire attitude and aptitude of one of the worst defenses in Michigan football history. We are at a point I do not worry about the defense at all.

I decided to run some numbers on this subject to get some bias out due to opponents that each team played.

Here is what I did.

Get average yards per game for of all the opponents for all of the teams in the top 10 list

Find the percentage difference between the average and the actual for each game for these top 10 teams

I did not include any games against FCS teams

Running the numbers, this is what I get as the order out of these 10 teams:

Alabama

-34%

Florida St

-33%

Arizona St

-32%

Minnesota

-30%

LSU

-30%

Nebraska

-24%

Michigan

-24%

Boise St

-19%

Fresno St

-18%

Vanderbilt

-16%

So, we are significantly further down the list. However, teams like Arizona St and Minn do well because the other teams find it quite easy to run against them and don't bother passing much. Looking at the overall numbers including rushing and total yardages, we probably have a top 10 defense just behind teams like Alabama, Florida St, and LSU.

If people are interested, I will try to create a diary entry with my spreadsheet.